Mark Lawrence Appointed to the German Academy of Science and Engineering
19.12.2024
Mark G. Lawrence, Director of the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) - Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, has been appointed a member of the National Academy of Science and Engineering of Germany (acatech). In a statement on the new appointments, the Academy writes: “Our new members have demonstrated exceptional excellence in their respective disciplines and join the ranks of acatech’s 682 members."
The Academy’s members collaborate on projects with external experts from science and industry. Its outputs include papers on specialised topics in the technical sciences, for example. These studies provide evidence-based advice on the societal and political dimensions and impacts of technological developments.
At the induction of the new members, acatech Präsident Jan Wörner highlighted the importance of scientific policy advice in the context of contemporary global dynamics and interdependencies. Evidence-based policy advice, he argued, provides orientation and guidance to support important political and social decision-making processes. “At Acatech, we fulfil this mission of providing policymakers and society with independent, evidence-based advice that is in the public interest by recruiting prominent scientists to join our growing programme of interdisciplinary collaboration. I am delighted to welcome the new members and even more excited about the results of the Academy's projects, thematic networks and working groups,” he said.
Mark Lawrence’s research Focus
Mark Lawrence’s research interests include air pollution, climate change, and climate protection as well as environmental governance in highly endangered regions. Throughout his career, he has published research on a range of issues relating to various technologies, including the global impact of nitrogen oxide emissions from ocean-going vessels on climate and air pollution. He has also conducted research into the challenges and risks of various types of climate geoengineering. As a postdoc, he developed the world's first global chemical weather forecasting system and advanced the adoption of these systems in the planning of air pollution measurement. Thanks to this and other research activities, his publications record is listed among the top one per cent of all scientists worldwide according to the Standford-Elsevier ranking published in August 2024.
Prof. Lawrence received his Ph.D. in 1996 from the Georgia Institute of Technology. From 2000 to 2011, he headed research groups at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz. He served as interim professor for meteorology at the University of Mainz during 2009‐2010, before being appointed director of today's RIFS, formerly IASS, in 2011. In 2014 he was appointed Honorary Professor at the University of Potsdam.
The RIFS Director plans to join acatech's Technology and Society Working Group within the Academy’s "Society and Technology" network: “This will allow me to optimally combine my work at RIFS with Acatech's activities," explains Lawrence.
